Filling-replenishing mechanism for looms.



No. 686,904. Pate'ntd Nov. I9, |90I. J. NORTHRDP.

FILLING REPLENISHING MECHANISM FUR LOOMS.

(Application led Apr. 29, 1901.)

(No ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet l` No. 686,904. Patented Nov. I9, I90I. J.NURTHROP.

FILLING BEPLENISHING MECHANISM FUR LOOMS.

(Application led Apr. 29, 1901.) (No McdelJ 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNTED STATES f OFFICE.

JONAS NORTIIROP, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPER COMPANY,OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FILLING-REPLENISHING MECHANISM FQR LOOMS.

SPEGIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,904, dated November19, 1901. Application filed April 29, 1901. Serial No. 57,890. (N0model- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONAS NORTHROP, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of Hopedale, county of Worcester, State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Automatic Filling-Replonishing Mechanisms for Looms, of which the following description,in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likecharacters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to looms provided with automaticfilling-replenishing mechanism of the type wherein the' change offilling is effected when a feeler detects the exhaustion of the fillingin the shuttle to a predetermined extent.

In a former United States' Patent, No. 646,866, granted to me April 3,1900, the operative movement of the feeler is effected by or through theshuttle as it enters the shuttle-box, and the feeler is so constructedthat the volume of the filling in the shuttle is determined by measuringits diameter. In my present invention I have also made the feelingmovement of the feeler dependent upon the entrance of the shuttle in theshuttlebox, but in a novel manner, an actuatingspring being permitted toeffect feeling movement by or through the entrance of the shuttle in theshuttle-box. The volume of filling in the shuttle-box is determined bymeasuring its diameter in my present invention; but instead of havingthe feeler straddle the filling mass and engage the same at two pointson opposite sides of its longitudinal axis, as in my said patent, I haveprovided for the engagement with the filling at only one side of itslongitudinal axis. Such construction obviates certain practicalobjections which sometimes occur with the meehanism described in mypatent.

Various other features of my invention will be hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure l is a top or plan view centrally broken out of a loom having oneembodiment of my present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is anenlarged front elevation of the left-hand end of the lay with a portionof the shuttle-box and the feeler and adjacent mechanism. Fig. 3 is anenlarged transverse sectional detail on the line x fr, Fig. 1, lookingto the right and showing a portion of the means for determining the timeof operation of the iilling-replenishing mechanism. Fig. 4 is a top orplan view of one end of the shuttle, showing a cam thereon, to bereferred to. Fig. 5 is a side elevation ot' the end of the shuttle shownin Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail in side elevation of the shoe whichcooperates with the shuttle to effect feeling movement of the feeler.Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the resetting device, showing normal andabnormal positions thereof by full and dot-ted lines, respectively.

Referring to Fig. l, the loomframe A, breast-beam A40, thelayA3, theshipper-lever S and its notched holding-plate H, attached to thebreast-beam, the filling-feeder F to receive the filling-carriers b, thetransferrer f', and the operating or controlling rock-shaft d', adaptedto be rotated in the direction of the arrow 20, Fig. 3, to effect achange of filling and normally held in the position shown in said figureoy the spring s2, are and may be all as shown in said Patent No.646,866, referred to, the parts operating substantially asset forth insaid patent.

The iilling-replenishing mechanism is located at one side of the loomand is adapted to transfer a fresh supplyof filling to the shuttle Swhen the latter is in the adjacent shuttle-box, while the feeler itselfis mounted in my present invention upon the front Wall B2 of theshuttle-box BX.

The front wall of the shuttle-box BX is shown as provided With alongitudinal aperture or slot b2, for a purpose to be described, andsaid wall has secured to or forming a part of it, at or near its outerend, an upturned stand or bracket b3, in which is mounted a shortrock-shaft b, transverse to the length of the shuttle-box and extendedoutwardly in front of the stand b3. At its inner end the rock-shaft hasfast upon it a shoe b5, having its lower longitudinal edge slightlyconveXed in the direction of its length, as at h6, (see Fig. 6,) and theshoe is provided with a lateral outwardly-extended lug or projection b7,for a purpose to be described. The rook-shaft IOO has pivot-ally mountedupon it an arm be, provided at its extremity with an enlargement b9,which I shall hereinafter term a bunter, the same being adapted to swingin a substantially vertical plane in front of the front wall of theshuttle-box and to at times extend in front of and act as a closure forthe aperture b2.

The feeler is shown as an arm a, secured to the arm 798 and bentinwardly and then extended in the direction of the longitudinal axis ofthe shuttle-box, the free end of the arm being shown best inv Fig. 2 asbent into a substantially U-shaped form at a to contact intermittinglywith the filling in the shuttle, the latter being open at its top andbottom, as in the patent referred to.

The swinging movement of the feeler and bunter will be effected inunison by virtue of their connection; but the feeler by virtue of itsposition will move into and out of the shuttle when the latter is in theshuttle-box BX, while the bunter moves up and down in"- side of thefront wall of the shuttle-box.

A spring S5, secured at one end tothe lay and at its other end to thebunter-arm b9, as herein shown, effects the feeling movement of thefeeler, it being understood that on such movement the feeler will movetoward and engage the lling at one side of the longitudinal axis of thelling-ca'rrier to determine the volume of the filling mass by measuringits radius, and on such feelingl movement the feeler will be arrested bythe filling until the latter is exhausted to a predetermined extent,anduntil such time the'downward movement of the bunter will be insufficientto move it in front of the aperture b2; but when the filling has beensufficiently exhausted to fail to arrest the movement of the feeler atsuch time the bunter will move down in front of the aperture intooperative position for a purpose to be described. f

A spring s, stronger than the spring 35,. is secured at one end to therock-shaft b4 and at its other end to the stand b3, the winding of thespring being such as to normally mfai'ntain the feeler and bunter indotted-line' pe"- sition,Y Fig. 2, with a shoulder 5 on the feele'rarmin engagement with* a stop 6 on the stand, and at such timethe shoe b5will be depressed so that the stud or projection 57, whichv projectsbeneath the feeler-arm a, will lift it and hold it in dotted-lineposition, Fig. 2,- with the spring 35 stretched.

Referring to Figs. t and 5, the end of the shuttle, which isl providedwith the holdingjaws hX for the head of the filling-carrier, is

herein shown as cut away on its side to'leave a cam-shaped shoulder71.5, which preferably is protected by a metal plate 71;, secured to theshuttle in any suitable manner, as by a screw 71,7, Fig. 4. Now when theshuttle' enters the shuttle-box BX the cam will engage the lower edge ofthe shoe b5 and will rock the said shoe in opposition to the action ofthe spring s6 into the position shown in full lines, Fig. 2, and thestud 57 will be withdrawn from engagement with the feeler-arm, so thatthe action of the spring s6, which I shall term the retractile spring,is neutralized and the spring S5 is free to act to move lthe feeler intothe shuttle to feel the'fllling therein.

As the shuttle is thrown out of the shuttle-box BX the retractile springs6 immediately acts to return the shoe to normal position and throughthe stud 797 to lift the feeler into normal position.

The rock-shaft d is provided with an upturned arm d5, Fig. 3, on theupper end of which is'pivotally mounted a latch d, which is rearwardlyextended across the breastbeam, said latch when in its operativeposition being adapted to be engaged by a shoulderw on the weft-hammerW. An upturned ear C77 on the latch is provided with a transverseprojection d8, which normally rests upon a wear-plate 90, secured to oneend of a substantially L-shaped detent C79 d10, fulcrumed on a verticalpivot 0712, mounted on a bracket HX, secured to the-holding-plate H, asshown in' Fig. 1. The arm dg of the detent is extended rearwardly and isadapted to enter the aperture b2 in the front wall B2 of the shuttle-boxat eachy forward beat of the lay until av change of lling is to beeffected, and so long as the arm di can enter said aperture the detentwill not be moved from operative position (shown inv Fig. l) and thelatch d6 will be maintained inoperative or out of the path of theshoulder w ou the weft-hammer. The usual filling-fork mX is pivotallymounted on a slide m, supported in aguide 7920, and the fillingk-,forkis provided with a loop-like tail m3 to'coperate with the usual hook m4,carried by the weft-hammer, when upon failure of the filling the fork isnot tilted, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the outerend ofthe slide havinga hooked portion m40 to engage thecorrespondingly-shaped end d4 of an upturned arm d4, fast on therock-shaft d', substantially as in United States Patent No. 662,320,dated Novem-ber 20, 1900. The guide 7720 forms part of a stand A12,bolted to the breast-beam and having an u pturned portion provided witha horizontal face b3", (see Fig.

3,) on which the plate 90 of the detent slides. So long as the detentretains the latch d6 inoperativer` there will be no change of filling,unless effected by or through the filling-fork IIO mx, if th'e'fi-llin-gbreaks; but when the iilling f in the shuttle has been sufficientlyexhausted to permit the feeler a to move down past the filling-carrierfar enough to position the bunt-er b in front of the aperture b2 thesaid bunter will engage the rearwardly-extended arm d ofv the' detentand the latter will be rocked on its pivot in the direction of the arrow50, Fig..1,withdrawing the plate 90 from beneaththe prjeonon d8, and thelatch win drop so that it will be in the path of the shoulder w on theoutward stroke of the weft-hammer, and thereby the arm d5 will be swungoutward, rocking the shaft d in the direction of the arrow 20, and achange of filling will be effected in well-known manner 4inclined andlaterally-extended head c', the

under face of which normally rests on the outer edge of the shelf 53,0.(See Figs. 3 and 7.) When the plate 90 is withdrawn from beneath theprojection d8, the latter drops onto the horizontal shelf h3, and sobelow the upper end of the inclined head c of the resetting device, audwhen the latch d6 is moved outwardly or to the right (viewing Fig. 3) byor through the action of the weft-ham mer the projection d8 will passunderneath and engage the under inclined surface of the head c and willact to tilt the resetting device c upwardly on its fulcrum cX (seedotted line,

Fig. 7) until the projection passes out from beneath the lower edge ofthe head, whereupon the device c immediately resumes its normalposition. (Shown in full lines, Fig. '7.) When the rock-shaft d isreturned to its normal position after change of filling is effected, thelatch d6 is moved to the left, (viewing Fig. 3,) and then the projectiond8 engages and rides up over the outer inclined face of the head c anddrops off the upper edge of the same onto the plate 90 of the detent,the latter by that time having returned to the position shown in Fig. 3,the resetting device c also returning to its normal position as s con asthe projection (Z8 has passed from beneath the lower edge of the headc', as above stated, and the parts are thus reset ready for the nextoperation of the filling-replenishing mechanism.

By the construction herein shown I obviate the use of a shuttle having aside aperture in its side wall, and the detent is only moved when theactuation of the filling-replenishin g mechanism is to be effected.Furthermore, the feeler in my present invention is not called upon toperform any function other than that of feeling the filling in theshuttle, the bunter, which is controlled as to its position by orthrough the feeler, coperating with the detent to release the latch atthe proper time.

In my prior patent, which I have hereinbefore referred to, thecalipering of the diameter of the filling mass by the feeler is effectedby causing the feeler to intermittingly engage the feeling at two pointson opposite sides of its longitudinal axis; but this sometimes provesobjectionable in practice, as

there is a tendency to jam the feeler and the filling-carrier.

By measuring the radius as in the present structure I entirely obviateany possibility of jamming or catching of the feeler on the filling massin the shuttle, because the feeler contacts with the filling at only oneside of the longitudinal axis of the filling-carrier.

The shuttle is in my present invention made to directly control thefeeling movement of the feeler rather than by the operation of anintermediate device, such as the picker in my patent referred to, and asomewhat more accurate operation of the feeler is thus eected with acloser timing of the feeler movement with the boxing of the shuttle.

The construction of the various parts hereinbefore described is simple,strong, and durable, and not likely to get out of order.

Having fully described 1nyinvention,what

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters l. In a loom, lthe lay,a shuttle-box thereon having an aperture in its front Wall, automaticiilling-replenishing mechanism, controlling means therefor including anormallyoperative detent adapted to intermittingly enter the aperture,combined with a feeler to intermittingly determine thevolume of fillingin the shuttle, and a bunter governed by the feeler and adapted to moveacross the aperture in the shuttle-box wall to engage and move thedetent into inoperative position when the filling in the shuttle isexhausted to a predetermined extent.

2. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box thereon having an aperture in itsfront wall, afeeler and a bunter, operatively connected and pivotallymounted on the shuttlebox, and means to intermittingly effect movementof the feeler into the shuttle when in the shuttlc-box to determine thevolume of the filling in the shuttle, the bunter moving outside of thefront Wall of the shuttle-box and across the aperture therein when thefilling in the shuttle is exhausted to a predetermined extent, combinedWith automatic filling-replenishing mechanism and controlling meanstherefor, including a latch and a detent normally maintaining the latchinoperative and adapted to intermittingly enter the aperture in theshuttle-box wall until the latter is crossed by the bunter.

3. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box thereon having an aperture in itsside wall, and a shuttle havin'gtan open top, filling-replenishingmechanism and means to determine the time of its operation, including apivotallymounted Ls-shaped detent, one end of which is adapted tointermittingly enter the aperture in the shuttle-box wall, combined witha feeler mounted on the shuttle-box and movable by the entrance of theshuttle into the box to engage and feel the filling in the shuttle, andmeans controlled by the feeler to close IOO the aperture in theshuttle-box wall and cooperate with the detent, to render the sameinoperative, when the filling in the shuttle is exhausted to apredetermined extent,

4. In a loom, the lay having a shuttle-box, a normally-inoperativefeeler and a connected bunter, both mounted on the shuttle-box, andmovable on opposite sides of the front Wall thereof, the latter havingan aperture therein, a shuttle, and means governed by the entrance ofthe shuttle into the shuttle-box to effect movement of the feeler toengage and be arrested by the filling in the shuttle until it isexhausted to a predetermined extent,combined with fillin g-replenishin gmechanism, and means to determine the time of its operation, said meansincluding a mem ber to coperate with the bunter when the filling hasbeen exhausted to the predetermined extent, and said bunter isinterposed between the aperture in the sh uttle-box Wall and saidmember.

5. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle having an open top, and a shuttle-boxhaving an aperture in its front Wall, a filling-feeler mounted on theshuttle-box, means actuated by or through the shuttle to move the feelerthrough the open top of the shuttle and feel the filling therein, and aclosure for the. said aperture governed bythe feeler, combined withfillingreplenishing mechanism controlled as to its operation uponmovement of' the closure across the said aperture.

6. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle, a shuttlebox having an aperture in itsfront Wall, automatic filling-replenishing mechanism, and means todetermine the time of its operation including a latch, and a detent tonormally maintain the latch inoperative, said detent entering normallysaid aperture at each for- Ward beat of the lay, combined with a feeler,a bunter normally maintained by the feeler in inoperative position, andmeans to effect movement of the feeler to intermittingly determine thevolume of the filling in the shuttle by measuring the radius ofthefilling mass, detection of predetermined exhaustion of filling by thefeeler moving the bunter across the said aperture and into the path ofand to move the detent on the forward beat of the lay, to thereby eectactuation of the lling-replenishing mechanism.

7. In a loom provided with automatic filling replenishing mechanism, ashuttle, a feeler to intermittingly engage and feel the lling in theshuttle, a spring to move the feeler toward the filling, a strongerretractile spring to maintain the feeler inoperative, and means actuatedby or through the shuttle to neutralize the action of the retractilespring and permit the feeler to be yieldingly moved toward the filling.

8. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box having an aperture in its. frontWall, a shuttle, auto matic fillingreplenishiug mechanism, apivotally-mounted feeler and a connected bunter, a spring to effectfeeling movement of the feeler into engagement with the filling in theshuttle, a stronger retractile spring to Withdraw the feeler, meansactuated by engagement with the shuttle to neutralize the eect of theretractile spring, and thereby permit yielding movement of the feeleruntil arrested by the filling, and a detent to be engaged and moved bysaid bunter when the latter is positioned in front of the aperture uponexhaustion of the filling to a predetermined extent.

9. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box, a shuttle having an open top, atransverse rockshaft mounted on the shuttle-box, a connected feeler andbunter pivotally mounted and extending on opposite sides of the frontWall of the shuttle-box, a spring to effect movement of and to bring thefeeler into contact with the filling in the shuttle, a shoe fastened onthe rock-shaft, and having a lug to engage and move the feeler out ofthe shuttle, a spring to rock the rock-shaft and cause the feeler to beretracted and the shuttle to engage the shoe and move it against itscontrolling-spring, and thereby permit the feelerspring to operate.

10. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box thereon having an aperture in itsfront Wall, a rockshaft mounted on the shuttle-box transversely thereto,and having a rigidly-attached shoe, a spring to rock the shaft in onedirection, a feeler and a bunter, connected and loosely mounted on therock-shaft, a spring to move the feeler into engagement with the fillingin the shuttle, the shuttle having a cam on its exterior to engage theshoe and turn the rock-shaft against its controlling-spring when theshuttle enters the box, to thereby permit the feeler-sprng to operate,and a lug on the shoe to retract the feeler when the shoe is released byexit of the shuttle from the shuttlebox.

11. In a loom provided with automatic filling-replenishing mechanism,means to control the operation thereof including a rockshaft, an armfast thereon, a latch pivotally mounted on said arm, a detent tonormally maintain the latch inoperative, and the wefthammer to engagethe latch when released by the detent, combined with means operated byor through the shuttle to intermittingly determine by measuring itsradius, the volume of the filling in the shuttle, a shut-tle, and abunter movable into position to engage the detent when the filling inthe shuttle has been exhausted to a predetermined extent.

12. In a loom, the lay, a shuttle-box thereon, a feeler and a connectedbunter pivotally mounted on the shuttle-box, a shuttle having an opentop, a spring to move the feeler into the shuttle-box to feel the massof filling therein at a point on one side of its longitudinal axis, andto be arrested by the filling IOO IOS

IIO

until exhausted to a predetermined extent, a filling in the shuttle hasbeen exhausted to a lo stronger retraotile spring to Withdraw thepredetermined extent.

feeler, and means operated by direct engage- In testimony whereof I havesigned my ment with the shuttle to neutralize the acname to thisspecification in the presence of tion of the retraetile spring combinedWith tWo subscribing Witnesses.

filling-replenishing mechanism, and means to JONAS NORTHROP. determinethe time of its operation, said Vitnesses: means including a memberadapted to be en- GEORGE OTIs DRAPER,

gaged and moved by the bunter when the 1 ERNEST W. WOOD.

